MOMONA.

Otago Witness, Issue 3234, 8 March 1916, Page 31

MOMONA.

March 5. —The weather during the past fortnight has been beautifully fine, and thrashing is being pushed forward as rapidly as possible. Naturally farmers are eager to get finished as soon as possible, and mill hands are eager to make big cheques, 60 the mills arc going from daylight till dark. There is still practically 14 hours of daylight, and every available minute is being utilised. Straw stacks are appearing in largo numbers all over this portion of the plain. A great deal of grain has been thrashed during the past fortnight, but there is still a good deal in the stook. However, in the latter case the owners are expecting to thrash in the course of a few days, and so have not thought it necessary to go to the extra ■work of stacking the sheaves. Most of the smaller farmers have now all their grain in the stack. In a season such as the present, when there is an unusual quantity of grain, to be thrashed, small farmers have no opportunity of getting a mill early in the season, and so are forced to stack their grain. The fine weather of the past fortnight has facilitated stacking operations, and tho grain has.been secured in really good condition. Large Yields. —Wheat and ofats arc yielding better than was at one time anticipated. Some splendid yields are reported—■ indeed, in some cases the returns have been so high as only to be described as phenomenal. This is especially so with regard to tho oat crops. Mr A. Moynihan has thrashed 112 bushels per acre, and from other parts of the plain I have heard of yields considerably in excess of this high figure—Bo and 90-bushel crops are quite common here. Tho highest yield of wheat which I have heard of in this locality was from a field of RcdchafE grown by Mr J. A. Bruce. This field returned the fine average of 74 bushels per acre. The grain was grown upon a field from -which a crop of potatoes had been taken the previous year, and prior to coming into ear gave promise of being so rank that Mr Bruce had serious thoughts of feeding it off and ploughing the ground up. But the dry season was in its favour, and comparatively littlo of it lodged. Needless to say, tho owner is now congratulating himself that he decided to let it take its chance. Upon the same farm a field of Velvet wheat yielded 62 bushels per acre, and the samo return was secured from a field of Purple Tuscan. Mr D. Bruce thrashed 65 bushels per aero from a field of Purolq Tuscan. Messrs Nichol and Sons, of Taurima, have a splendid yield all over a large area. Teams are busily engaged in carting grain to the railway, and tho end of this week will probably see the earlier farmers finished with this work, and the plough teams at work in the stubble.